Penelope Armando Electoral History
Senate President (257-261) * Senate Minority Leader (249-257, 261-Present) * Dove Conference Secretary (247-249) * Senator (239-Present) * Governor (231-239) * Mayor (229-231) Campaigns For Senate 262 Senate Primary * Penelope Armando (Inc.): * Congressman Rodney Goldwater: * 260 Candidate for Mayor, Ivan Lewis: * 254 Candidate for Territorial House, Wilbert Walker: Polling Among Dove Primary Voters Approval among Dove Primary Voters Background Following The Doves losing control of the senate in the 260 elections, Armando began facing increasing push-back from members within the party, blaming her polarizing stature and argued that she's become an ineffective leader as of late. As a result, speculation persisted for most of 261 if Armando would seek a 7th Senate Term. Some of Armando's most vocal critics were her fellow delegation members, Congressmen Jim Connolly and Rodney Goldwater, who routinely criticized her leadership style in the Senate and blamed her for losing the senate. However, Connolly said he was unlikely to run if Armando did, and Goldwater launched a bid in late 261, much to the surprise of most in the party establishment. Additionally, Gov. Danny Stone was rumored to still have a bitter relationship with Armando, given that he had defeated her ally, Then-Gov. Naomi Nanton in 258. Her brother, James Armando, was also Nanton's Lt. Gov, and Stone's victory over Nanton in the primary was seen as ruining her brother's career. Stone did not commit to endorsing her, though refused to rule out endorsing her and said he had no intention of running for Senate. As a sign of faith from Stone's allies, Lt. Gov. Mark Pearl endorsed Armando prematurely. Other prominent Doves, such as New Haven County Executive Charlie McDonald, Mayor Dennis Watts, and Territorial House Majority Leader Mark Hutchinson V, along with the rest of the territorial wide elected officials and the rest of the Congressional delegation said they'd back Armando if she ran. Armando ultimately announced in early 262, a few months before the filing deadline, that she would seek re-election. While Armando's standing among the Dove Primary electorate has eroded somewhat by the point of early 262, she maintained an effective political machine, and maintained good relations with Territory's other politically famous family, the Hutchinson's, and still generally held high approval ratings. People also remembered her tenure as Governor fondly and appreciated many of the causes she championed in the Senate. Armando has benefited as well in the weakness in Goldwater, who was accused of sexual misconduct, though Goldwater has denied the charges, turning the accusations back on Armando and accusing her of attempting to smear his name. Goldwater also isn't as well known as compared to Armando, given that Goldwater was only elected to the Imperial House in the 258 elections, and only served one term in the territorial house from 257-259. The Campaign As soon as Goldwater announced, he began going on the offensive, attacking Armando for being in office too long and charged that her ineffective and polarizing leadership was the cause of the Doves losing the Senate in the 260 elections. Goldwater also hit on the political dynasty note, saying that "Naloians have had enough Armando's and Hutchinson's" and campaigned on the need for a fresh face. Polls have also showed that primary voters desired someone new, as Armando began trailing drastically against the re-elect question. Armando fired back with ads criticizing Goldwater's low attendance rate in the Territorial House and took shots at times Goldwater voted against party interests in the Imperial House. When Dove Party Chairwoman Renee Robins-McRogers was asked about the primary, she said that it was Party policy not to endorse in contested primaries. Since the primary began, Gov. Danny Stone seemed to began to favor Armando, weighed in that he's opening to campaigning for Armando if she asked, though noted that he wasn't sure if he'd help given his own mediocre approval ratings (Stone was also facing a primary challenger for Governor). Additionally, Armando was expected to face a fairly competitive General Election since her first election to the Senate, as District Attorney Adam Billings was the most likely Hawk nominee, and was receiving favorable news coverage. Two other prominent hawks were in the race as well: Territorial House Minority Leader Ronnie Adams, and Former County Auditor Andy Evans. In the first public survey, the poll showed Armando holding a 27 point lead over Goldwater, Many analysts speculated that Armando was likely to get the lowest primary performance for a sitting Senator from Nalo in the territory's history, and noted that the last time a federal official was defeated was Rep. Ronald Willis in 228) (Willis went on to challenge Armando for Governor 6 years later, but was soundly defeated), but did note that Gov. Nanton fell in the primary just 4 years ago. Though analysts further said that as long as Armando enjoyed relative popularity among the Dove Primary electorate, then she should prevail. Unconfirmed Reports suggested that Armando was concerned about the Primary, noting that one of her top lieutenants, Sen. Evan Cotter, fell unexpectedly to primary challenger in 256. Other news reports suggested that some Dove Senators were starting to make contingency plans to make Bill Orlando the next Dove Leader should Armando be defeated in the primary or if it looked like that Goldwater would pose a serious enough threat, as some of the Dove's conference privately preferred Orlando for being more warm and friendly and having a positive reputation across party lines and had favorable views during his time as the Senate's Majority Leader. Some reports even suggested that the Peace Caucus, a part of the Dove Conference that had clashed with Armando frequently since 257 when Doves took control of the Senate, was pushing Orlando to challenge Armando now, particularly when Armando allegedly lashed out at Senator John Hikes, a member of the Peace Conference, for promising to back her on the floor for the Senate President Vote in 261, and then proceeded to be one of the seven Doves to vote against Armando. Armando did not appoint Hikes again to the Imperial Military Committee, rather assigning him to a less prominent committee. When asked about Armando's position in the conference and if he was thinking about challenging Armando, Orlando shot down speculation and reiterated his support and friendship with Armando. Deputy Whip Jared Thanes also tamped down on reports, saying that Armando maintained widespread support among the conference, and that a few rabble rousing Senators were not representative of the conference's sentiment as a whole. The Peace Caucus did not rule out endorsing Goldwater, but did say they had reservations about his voting record, and as of early 262 there had been no plans for the Peace Caucus's Political Organization to intervene in Armando's primary on behalf of Goldwater. Towards the end of the primary, filing reports showed that while Armando had out-raised Goldwater by 50-1 margin, even despite a multi-million loan, Goldwater was managing to outspend Armando in several crucial media markets. When asked about why she was being outspent on the airwaves, Armando demurred, saying that ads weren't going win the race, and noted that she was vastly outspending Goldwater on other fronts such as mailing and getting out the vote. Additionally, in the lead up to the primary, Armando was campaigning with territorial wide officials such as Lt. Gov Mark Pearl. A poll roughly 3 weeks before the election showed that Goldwater was gaining on Armando, reducing her lead by nearly half. In response, Armando reserved a mutli million dollar buy for the last 2 weeks of the campaign. From that point onward, the race seemed to stabilize in Armando's favor, as she had begun drastically outspending Goldwater and polling showing her building what many considered to be an insurmountable margin. Armando ultimately prevailed over Goldwater, but seriously under-performed expectations, continuing calls from within the party for her to step down as the Senate's top Dove. Primary Results * Penelope Armando (Inc.): 294,373 (52%) * Congressman Rodney Goldwater: 220,780 (39%) * 254 Candidate for Territorial House, Wilbert Walker: 28,305 (5%) * 260 Candidate for Mayor, Ivan Lewis: 22,644 (4%) Total Votes: 566,102 General Election * (D) Penelope Armando (Inc.): * (H) District Attorney Adam Barnum: * (I) Businessman James Henderson: 258 Senate Primary * Penelope Armando (Inc.): 174,667 (85%) * Businessman Peter Nylan: 30,823 (15%) Total: 205,490 General * (D) Penelope Armando (Inc.): 1,392,694 (76%) * (H) Former Spokesperson For Peace Through Strength and 254 Senate Nominee, Zane Oskabee: 439,798 (24%) Total: 1,832,492 254 Senate * (D) Penelope Armando (Inc.): 1,174,427 (81%) * (H) Former Spokesperson For Peace Through Strength Zane Oskabee: 275,483 (19%) Total: 1,449,910 250 Senate * (D) Penelope Armando (Inc.): 924,502 (71%) * (H) Businessman Penny Gladistine: 377,613 (29%) Total Votes: 1,302,115 246 Senate * (D) Penelope Armando (Inc.): 1,010,644 (63%) * (H) Territorial Senator Henry Dallas: 593,553 (37%) Total Votes: 1,604,197 242 Senate * (D) Penelope Armando (Inc.): 865,567 (68%) * (H) Former Territorial Representative Alan Toby: 407,326 (32%) Total Votes: 1,272,893 = 238 Senate * (D) Governor Penelope Armando: 719,761 (53%) * (H) Mayor Finny Flint: 597,537 (44%) * (I) Banker Bill Dodd: 40,741 (3%) Total Votes: 1,358,039 To Replace Retiring Senator Mark Hutchinson IV Campaigns For Governor 234 Governor * (D) Penelope Armando (Inc.): 781,534 (70%) * (H) Former Congressman Ronald Willis: 334,943 (30%) Total Votes: 1,116,477 230 Governor * (D) Mayor Penelope Armando: 958,180 (55%) * (H) Alec Vernon (Inc.): 783,964 (45%) Total Votes: 1,742,144 Campaign For Mayor of 228 Mayor Primary * Businesswoman, Former Senate Aide to Mark Hutchinson IV, Daughter of Former Senator and Governor Russ Armando, Penelope Armando: 57,739 (51%) * City Council President Gordon Smyth: 41,889 (37%) * Businessman Tony Webber: 13,586 (12%) Total Votes: 113,214 General * (D) Businesswoman, Former Senate Aide to Mark Hutchinson IV, Daughter of Former Senator and Governor Russ Armando, Penelope Armando: 686,280 (68%) * (H) Chief of The City's Transit Authority Harry Souder: 322,956 (32%) Total Votes: 1,009,236 To Succeed Retiring Mayor Ellen Taylor